Now I Lay Me
by bhoney
Summary: Dean used to pray every night before bed. Just a sweet little moment between Mary and wee!Dean, with a surprise visit from wee!Sammy. Inspired by this week’s E/O CHALLENGE. wee!Chester


_Well, this is considerably longer than the drabble it started out as. LOL But it was inspired by the E/O Challenge for the week, to do a wee!Chester fic using the word "fold." I included two previous words as well, "hold" and "blanket." _

_Happy Birthday, Shinaria!_

**Now I Lay Me**

Mary Winchester smiled down lovingly at Dean, who she'd _finally_ managed to wrangle into PJs and under the blankets. She felt like she'd just tried to corral a herd of wild horses, rather than just get one energetic four-year-old into bed, and sighed with relief when he was finally settled. She quickly ran through her mental checklist: Bedtime story? Check. Goodnight hugs and kisses from both her and John? Check. Extra glass of water on the nightstand? Check. "Okay, Dean, it's time to say your prayers," she announced.

"'Kay, mommy," Dean agreed readily. He folded his small hands together and closed his eyes, just like she'd shown him.

"Now I lay me…" she began softly.

"Now I way me…" he parroted back. Mary smiled at the childish pronunciation as she went through the prayer she'd said herself as a child, with Dean repeating the lines after her till they reached the end. Like always, she let him close it with his own words.

"Dear God, pwease watch over Mommy and Daddy. Baby Sammy, too." Dean's little boy voice was sweet and solemn when he prayed and Mary's heart melted with love for him. "An' _pwease_ make Baby Sammy be borned soon," Dean added, "so I c'n have a wittle brover to pway wif. Aaa-_men,_" he drew out the syllables with satisfaction.

Mary smiled at his prayer and the enthusiastic ending. "Baby Sammy will be here before you know it, sweetie," she assured him. "Not much longer now." _I hope!_ she silently added, thinking of her aching back and enormous belly, not to mention her sore feet.

"An' den I'll be a big brover," Dean said excitedly, green eyes sparkling. "An' we can pway games and foo'ball…"

"Well, it might be just a _little_ while before Sammy's big enough to play football," Mary laughed, cupping Dean's face with her hand and stroking her thumb over his adorable freckles. He leaned into the touch, snuggling as close to her as her belly would allow. "But you can play other games with him, like Patty Cake and Peek-a-Boo," she suggested.

"Yeah," agreed Dean. "We'll pway dat. An' I'm gonna he'p take care a him, an' make sure nobody makes him cry. An' I'm gonna be da bestest big brover _ever._"

Mary felt herself get all misty, and knew she couldn't blame it on the hormones this time. No, this was pure motherly mushiness. She always got choked up when Dean talked about being a big brother. It was like he'd been born for the job, and she knew he'd be great at it. He was such a sweet, generous, loving little boy, and she couldn't be prouder of him. How had she gotten so lucky? "Yeah, you are, sweetie," she managed to get out past the lump in her throat.

As if to prove her point, Dean reached over and gave her rounded belly a hug and kiss. "Night, Sammy. Wuv you," he declared, completing his usual nighttime ritual. With a big yawn, he snuggled down into the covers.

Mary watched until his breathing slowed and he drifted off into sleep. She gently brushed the hair back off his face. He looked so peaceful in the dim light, a real change from his normal, energetic self. Awake, he was always in motion. She leaned down for one last kiss to his forehead then turned and left the room, arms holding her swollen belly.

"He's right, you know," she whispered to the child inside her. "You _do_ need to come out soon. We're all anxious to meet you." She smiled fondly, "_Especially_ your big brother, Dean. He's been waiting on you a long time now. You guys are going to be the best of friends, though I'm sure you'll fight like cats and dogs sometimes—most siblings do. But he'll always be there for you. You'll see, Sammy—he's going to be the best big brother you could ask for."

She felt a hard kick against her belly, which she took to be agreement. She chuckled—not even born yet and already Sammy knew what she did: he was going to have the best big brother in the world.


End file.
